'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria

4.3 Lene and the Other Bride
While in her positive collaboration with other women, in her existence as a
housewife, and in her impassive reaction to the victimization of others, Lene resembles
the old woman of the fairy tale, in her response to her own victimization she more closely
mirrors the murdered maiden of the fairy tale. Both Lene and the murdered bride
represent the passive woman abused by male aggression. By allowing herself to be
coerced by the robbers into drinking three glasses of wine, the maiden lets herself
become intoxicated and murdered. The Other bride‟s inaction in the face of men‟s
violence can be linked to Lene‟s passive response to four episodes of violence
perpetrated against her by male characters in the film. Both Lene and the murdered bride
represent the passive woman abused by male aggression. Lene does not cry out when
attacked by the SA man‟s German shepherd in the first scene, but instead cries in private.
Lene‟s acceptance of the societal convention that women should “suffer in silence”
curtails her agency and causes her to deny and censor her emotions, which in turn makes
her react to situations of injustice and abuse with passivity and stoicism. Lene‟s
compliance with social standards of acceptable female behaviour is further shown in her
relationship with Hans. She is abused by her husband in a second instance of violence,
this time domestic. When Hans returns from Poland on leave, he is frustrated by Lene‟s
reluctance to be intimate with him and accuses her of having been with another man. He
becomes increasingly agitated and, losing his temper, shakes Lene and slaps her in the
face. The sound and camera movements play an important role in this scene. Periods of
silence are interrupted only by a few statements and are emphasized through long takes
117